IntegraBlog

Trust and Credibility: The Foundation of Relationships

by: Kasey Sloan | Business Development Manager

Whether it’s a relationship with a client, candidate, or co-worker, trust and credibility can make or break the bond. 

 

Credibility: the basis for any new relationship.  This is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as the “capacity for belief.”  When you enter into a partnership with someone, you have to be consistent, reliable, and understanding.  This means doing what you say you are going to do!  Companies can build credibility through websites, word-of-mouth from current and past clients, and even by community presence.  Candidates, or potential employees, can build credibility by providing references and being open and honest about past experiences, good and bad.  Everyone has made mistakes, so if you portray yourself as the perfect employee, you are most likely hiding something.

 

Trust: creates long-term, prosperous relationships.  This is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.”  This takes time!  Be honest and upfront about your abilities.  If you don’t believe you will be able to work with a particular client or candidate, let them know up front.  As a potential employee, almost all companies will disqualify a person they find has been dishonest.  In a trusting relationship, both parties have to be able to depend on each other.  This requires listening attentively, and then understanding and empathizing with the other person in the relationship.

 

Credibility can begin a new relationship, and trust can foster its growth.  This process is never ending.  Once you build a relationship with a person, or company, it is important to nurture and cultivate that relationship.  Communicate, provide crucial feedback, and be upfront with your abilities.  These things alone will not ensure every successful relationship, but it can be the building blocks to many.

Coaching Managers for Success

by: Wendy Floyd | Senior Recruiter
The partnerships that you’ve built with your line of business managers are starting to pay off. Your success in sourcing the ideal candidate, screening them for the position and preparing them for the line of business interview has increased. So at this point in order to continue seeing the fruits of your labor, you will need to identify coaching opportunities. Coaching relationships simply forge a foundation for the success you want. What outcome does every recruiter desire from his or her line of business interview? A hire!

Some of the benefits of coaching include:
• Commitment - to recruiting partnership
• Clarity – clearer understanding of expectations and goals
• Cooperation –synergy becomes a way of doing business
• Decisiveness – quicker and better decision result in better quality of actions
• Energy – interviewing process and candidates are dealt with more effectively

Do your line of business managers think that you have a file drawer of resumes just waiting for a call? If so, educate and coach your managers. Educate your managers about the caliber of candidates you recruit for their open positions. Qualified, top performing candidates don’t expect to receive the same treatment average candidates receive. They’re valuable, have a competitive edge and know their worth. Additionally, this will help managers understand the effort that goes into turning a prospect into a candidate and ensures that managers appreciate your pool of A-level candidates.

Our managers appreciate us! Why? Recruiting professionals at Integra are confident in their ability to attract A-level candidates. Our innovative three to one guarantee provides assurance to our line of business managers that they will make a hire in three candidates or less. Now…how’s that for a commitment!

Building Partnerships is Key to Right "Fit"

by: Wendy Floyd | Senior Recruiter
Recruiters are great matchmakers! We spend the majority of our time finding, attracting, and keeping viable candidates warm with the intentions of filling open positions. Although recruiters don’t necessarily have difficulty playing matchmaker, we can’t do it alone. As recruiters we must establish ourselves as business partners and not order fillers. Given this, recruiters should build and nourish business partnerships with line of business managers. How? Periodically request relationship building get-togethers with the managers/clients you support.

I’m sure you will agree that it is easier said then done, but really it’s worth the effort. I have found relationship building get-togethers to be an extremely advantageous approach to finding the right candidate fit. The get-togethers provide an opportunity to learn about the client. In doing so, you assess the client’s personality, interviewing style and techniques, and his or her likes and dislikes about the “flow” of the life cycle of recruiting. This information will help you adjust to the client’s functional needs.

More often then not, recruiters will need to look beyond the job description for the perfect candidate fit. Therefore, having prior knowledge about what skill set and candidate attributes your client is looking for will greatly improve the odds of identifying a candidate who fits the mold. Last but not least, recruiters will need to utilize the job description along with the information obtained during the get-together to determine what the client needs versus what he or she wants!

Remember…getting the cooperation you need from your clients will depend on your performance, so hit the nail on the head the first time around